A Winter Haven woman was arrested after a 6-year-old boy in her care shot himself the evening of June 5, the Polk County Sheriff’s Office said.
The incident took place at a home on Bishop James Cochran Way in a small, unincorporated enclave of northern Winter Haven, just south of Lake Conine.
The Sheriff’s Office responded to Winter Haven Hospital after a child was admitted with a gunshot wound to the leg.
Nicole Felippe, 39, was the only adult at home with the boy when the shooting happened, the Sheriff’s Office said in an arrest affidavit. According to deputies, she said she took a shower, and as she was getting out, she heard a pop and ran out of the room. She said she saw blood everywhere, wrapped the boy up and took him to the hospital, according to the affidavit.
Deputies said an interview was conducted with the father, who had left the boy in Felippe’s care at their shared residence while he ran errands. While at Dollar General, the father, who’s name was redacted in the affidavit, received a call from Felippe. He told deputies he rushed home, saw blood everywhere. According to the affidavit, the father said he saw a small, black handgun that he did not recognize on the floor of the residence, and he picked it up and put it on a shelf.
Felippe then took the boy to the hospital, and neither of them called law enforcement or emergency medical services, the affidavit said. The hospital is about 1.7 miles from the residence.
According to the affidavit, the father told deputies he and Felippe often have parties at the home, but he was unaware of anyone bringing a gun.
At the hospital, deputies interviewed the boy, who told them he found the gun and shot it, striking himself in the right thigh. Medical staff said he suffered a tibia fracture to his right leg and that it appears the round entered through his thigh and exited through his shin.
Deputies then went to the home, where they asked Felippe for permission to go through the residence for evidence. She refused, according to the affidavit, and a search warrant was obtained.
Deputies found marijuana and items used to weigh and smoke it in and around a bedroom used by Felippe.
Felippe was arrested on charges of neglect of a child with great bodily harm with culpable negligence, possession of cannabis under 20 grams and possession of drug paraphernalia.
This article originally appeared on The Ledger: Winter Haven woman arrested after 6-year-old boy shoots himself
Reporting by Lakeland Ledger / The Ledger
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Lakeland Ledger | USA TODAY Network
